Nirvana!

[omaha]

My Agfa Isolette III arrived from Jurgen today. What a treat! Its just perfect!

He put on a new bellows (red, at my request) that looks awesome. Mechanically it feels like a Swiss watch... or maybe a German camera. Everything is smooth and precise.

I ran a roll of FP4 through it this afternoon. That was a joy. I decided to try shooting without a meter. Just used my best guess as I went. And focusing with an uncoupled rangefinder was a new thing for me as well.

Got home and dunked the roll. At first glance, the negatives look great (I'm yet to get all my enlarging kit put together, so that's as far as I got tonight).

This is another step in my return to film, and I'm in love. The manual nature of these cameras is making me look and see and think like I haven't in years.

Just had to share my good day!

 

[zsas]

Great to hear your return is going so great. It only gets better!

When that darkroom gets into production you will be nirvana^~

 

[clayne]

Buy a tetenal e6 kit and self develop slides. The nirvana is only heightened.

 

[omaha]

I'm scared to do that. With the price and availability of E6 being what it is, I worry about getting hooked and then suffering withdrawal.

 

[clayne]

What would be worse, willfully abstaining or having never experienced due to inability? ;-)

 

[Roger Cole]

This thread is useless without pictures (of the camera with red bellows.) Just sayin'.

Congrats!

 

[Jeff Kubach]

I wouldn't mind see pictures also!

Jeff

 

[omaha]

As long as no one objects to (eghad!!!) digital photos being posted here (these are off my Nikon), here you go:

Pretty, isn't it?

Learned a lesson this morning. I was picking up some stuff, and the guy I was meeting with is a camera guy. So I handed the Agfa to him and said "Here. You'll appreciate this."

I went back to loading up my trunk, then I looked up and saw him twiddling with the take-up wheel.

"Um...there's film in that..."

"Oops!"

He rolled out half the roll before I noticed!

 

[Roger Cole]

That is a beauty!

 

[Too old to care]

Enjoy it, I think you did well, it looks in excellent shape.

 

[omaha]

Thanks.

It wasn't particularly cheap...I paid what I assume was a premium price for one that had new bellows and had been fully restored mechanically. As near as I can tell, Jurgen (aka "certo6") did a perfect job. I expect it to last forever.

Every time I look at it, I wonder how many owners its had. I wonder what the original owner (mid 1950's, I'd guess) was like. What was it used for? What is its story? I would LOVE to somehow track down some of his/her photos! There is something very compelling to me about a camera that is older than I am.

I finally have all my bits and pieces for my enlarging setup together. With any luck, I'll be able to enlarge a photo taken with the Agfa tonight.